Genres

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Moods

50. Jonah Hill in Django Unchained It's a cute cameo, and a winking bit of casting, but that all doesn't add up to a great performance.[Where to stream Django Unchained]

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49. Kerry Washington as Broomhilda Von Shaft in Django Unchained Washington is a fantastic actress, and there were high hopes for her in this movie, but she's relegated to a damsel in distress role that doesn't give her much to do.[Where to stream Django Unchained]

Everett Collection

48. Brad Pitt as Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds Pitt was the big name attached to Basterds, but he's kind of a disappointment, isn't he. Oftentimes it seems like he's busier chomping on that accent than he is doing character work.[Where to stream Inglorious Basterds]

Everett Collection

47. Rose McGowan as Pam in Death Proof McGowan is good with the little screen time and limited role she gets in Death Proof. She's slotted into the role of victim, but she earns audience empathy quickly.[Where to stream Death Proof]

45. Tim Roth as Oswaldo Mobray in The Hateful Eight Roth is having fun with the role -- he's one of the denizens of Minnie's Haberdashery when it becomes an armed stand-off -- but it's really hard to shake the perception that he's just doing the Christoph Waltz thing.

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44. Bridget Fonda as Melanie Ralston in Jackie Brown Usually, Tarantino is the one resuscitating stalled careers. The bummer of it all is that Jackie is one of the last big movies Fonda made before ceasing acting in 2002.[Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Everett Collection

43. Robert De Niro as Louis Gara in Jackie Brown De Niro has a couple good scenes in Jackie, particularly towards the end, but it's tough not to be a bit disappointed that Tarantino didn't find more for him to do.[Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Everett Collection

42. Bruce Dern as General Sanford Smithers in The Hateful Eight Dern's role is small, but he brings all his Bruce Dern-y gruffness to bear on it, to the film's ultimate benefit.

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41. Rosario Dawson as Abernathy Ross in Death Proof Dawson is delivering everything you cast her for in this movie: attitude, sex appeal, and absolute grab-the-camera magnetism. [Where to stream Death Proof]

Everett Collection

40. Chris Tucker as Beaumont Livingston in Jackie Brown 1997 was a massive breakout year for Tucker, as he starred in this, The Fifth Element, and Money Talks. His Jackie Brown performance is brief in comparison, but it just might be the best of the three. [Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Miramax Films

39. Amanda Plummer as Honey Bunny/Yolanda in Pulp Fiction Honey Bunny/Yolanda's outburst at the beginning of her and Pumpkin/Ringo's diner heist kicks the film into the opening credits with the highest of octane. [Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

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38. Sidney Tamaiia Poitier as Jungle Julia in Death Proof I have no idea how Poitier's performance in this film didn't make her massively in demand as an actress. She practically leaps off the screen. [Where to stream Death Proof]

Everett Collection

37. Bruce Willis as Butch Coolidge in Pulp Fiction He's the weakest of the three leads by a good margin, but he's not terrible. And the mere act of being in Pulp Fiction kicks him up a few notches. [Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

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36. Tracie Thoms as Kim Mathis in Death Proof Tracie Thoms wants to wreck some stuff in this movie, and her enthusiasm really gets the audience keyed up for the film's final showdown.[Where to stream Death Proof]

35. Jamie Foxx as Django Django Unchained Foxx really gets overshadowed by his co-stars in Django, which is definitely a mark against him considering the whole movie hinges on him being the last man standing. He's good, but if he were great, the whole movie could have reached another level. [Where to stream Django Unchained]

Everett Collection

34. Kurt Russell as John Ruth in The Hateful Eight Russell is a fantastic fit for Tarantino's style, and he is by far the most interesting thing about The Hateful Eight's tedious first half.

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33. Lawrence Tierney as Joe Cabot in Reservoir Dogs Casting the gruff Hollywood old-timer as the crime boss in his debut feature really set the tone for the kinds of actors Tarantino would be interested in throughout his career. Tierney is more of an icon than an actor in this one, but he really nails that scene where he hands out color-coded names to his crew.[Where to stream Reservoir Dogs]

Everett Collection

32. Daniel Brühl as Fredrick Zoller in Inglourious Basterds As the golden-boy Nazi soldier, Brühl manages to defy all odds and also give a good portrayal of the romantic side of his character. It's like an exploration into the boyfriend in The Sound of Music. You know, but in a Tarantino film. [Where to stream Inglorious Basterds]

Everett Collection

31. Michael Keaton as Ray Nicollette in Jackie Brown Keaton can often bring a darker or slightly more unhinged shade to his characters, but in Jackie he's playing one of the good guys, and he does it well enough that you almost hope Jackie will play it straight. Almost.[Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Everett Collection

30. Eric Stoltz as Lance in Pulp Fiction The scene where Mia Wallace overdoses and Vincent has to save her is a triumph of madcap comedy in the darkest of circumstances, and so much of that credit goes to Stoltz, whose "prank caller! prank caller!" skittishness really ratchets up the tension.[Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

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29. Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie Django Unchained His co-star Christoph Waltz won the Oscar, but I maintain that had DiCaprio been nominated, he'd have taken home the gold that night, and we wouldn't have to read about all those bear rapings on the set of The Revenant. [Where to stream Django Unchained]

Everett Collection

28. Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike in Death Proof Russell's Death Proof character is purely loathsome. Not only violent and murderous and insane, but also condescending, gross, misogynistic, and, ultimately cowardly. Russell never backs down from any of this, to his and the film's benefit. [Where to stream Death Proof]

Everett Collection

27. Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown There are times when Ordell's character, as written, feels kind of rote or obligatory. Like Tarantino knew he wanted Jackson in his movie and wrote placeholder dialogue for him. But there are other moments where Jackson completely owns the screen. [Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Everett Collection

26. Ving Rhames as Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction The mystery and menace of Marcellus Wallace is present even before we see him, and Tarantino does a great job of making him larger than life simply through clever framing of his shots (it's telling that my first mental image when I think "Marcellus Wallace" is the back of his head and that band-aid on his neck). But Rhames really sells it, and even maintains the character through some seriously effed-up third-act circumstances.[Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

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25. Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill There is an intimidating amount of control in Lucy Liu's performance as O-Ren Ishii, particularly in her voice. She only raises it a couple of times in the film, both to great effect. The rest of the time, she's soft-spoken but entirely intimidating at the same time.[Where to stream Kill Bill Vol. 1, Where to stream Kill Bill Vol. 2]

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24. Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink Reservoir Dogs There's a claim to be made that Steve Buscemi essentially created the Quentin Tarantino Thing during his two big moments in Reservoir Dogs (the waitress-tipping scene and the Mr. Pink scene). He establishes that crude, conversational, hyper-articulate style that Tarantino would corner the market on. [Where to stream Reservoir Dogs]

Everett Collection

23. Jennifer Jason Leigh as Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight I actually think Leigh's character is underwritten in a whole lot of ways, but Leigh's performance is magnetic when it counts, and she more than makes a case for bigger and better roles to come.

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22. Samuel L. Jackson as Major Marquis Warren in The Hateful Eight There's a stretch in The Hateful Eight where you start to worry that Samuel L. Jackson might actually be fading into the ensemble. By the end of the movie, that notion is pretty laughable. The film's second half turns into Jackson's playground.

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21. Christoph Waltz as Dr. King Schultz in Django Unchained I tend to think it was King Schultz' likability in rather unlikeable circumstances that won Waltz his second Oscar, but Waltz is no doubt in the top one percent of actors who deliver Tarantino's dialogue the very best. [Where to stream Django Unchained]

The Weinstein Company

20. Harvey Keitel as The Wolf in Pulp Fiction The Wolf is basically a glorified cameo in Pulp Fiction, but he's easily one of the top 5 most memorable characters in the film. Keitel plays with his own screen presence as a gruff, fearsome guy. At some moments he plays into it, others he runs counter. He's a delight throughout. [Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

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19. Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs Madsen isn't the most consistent of Tarantino performers (you'll notice he's not on this list for either his Kill Bill or Hateful Eight performances), but there can be little doubt that he reached icon status with merely some dance moves in Reservoir Dogs.[Where to stream Reservoir Dogs]

Everett Collection

18. Zoe Bell as Zoe in Death Proof She may be a stunt performer first and an actress second, but Bell's physicality is an integral (maybe THE integral) component of Death Proof's ultimate success. [Where to stream Death Proof]

Dimension Films

17. Harvey Keitel as Mr. White in Reservoir Dogs Keitel is the unexpectedly prominent heart at the center of Reservoir Dogs. The finale is chaotic and violent, yes, but it lands as powerfully as it does mostly because Keitel and Tim Roth really sell their characters' relationship. If I had to pick a most underrated Tarantino performer, Harvey's my guy.[Where to stream Reservoir Dogs]

Everett Collection

16. Walton Goggins as Chris Mannix in The Hateful Eight Most unexpectedly, Walton Goggins ends up walking away with The Hateful Eight, which will end up as news to anybody at the film's intermission. Goggins' presence increases exponentially as the film goes on, though, as does the blend of comedy and menace that he's been playing with his whole career.

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15. Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen in Django Unchained With a few tweaks, Jackson's character could have been the lead in Django Unchained, and I often wonder if it'd been a more powerful movie if that was the case. Jackson's old, domesticated butler character is a fascinating blend of conflicting loyalties, self-hatred, and hatred directed elsewhere. Jackson plays all those layers perfecting, giving far and away the best performance in a film that often settles for cheap shock. [Where to stream Django Unchained]

The Weinstein Company

14. Tim Roth as Ted the Bellhop in Four Rooms Tarantino's quadrant in this anthology flick is often glossed over in career retrospectives, but it's got a lot to recommend it, including a Jennifer Beals appearance that nearly made this list just on the merits of being a cool bystander. Roth is central, though, and by this point in the movie he's kind of at the end of his rope. How he returns to his unflappable center is something I won't spoil, but Roth ends up proving himself perfect casting by film's end.

Everett Collection

13. Diane Kruger as Bridget von Hammersmark in Inglourious Basterds Kruger hadn't done a ton in her career (particularly her English-speaking career) that would lead anyone to think she was going to be anything special in Tarantino's long-awaited World War II film, but she proved the naysayers wrong as a slick, savvy spy.[Where to stream Inglorious Basterds]

Everett Collection

12. John Travolta as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction He probably came closer to winning an Oscar than we remember, and in any other year that didn't feature Tom Hanks in the Oscar-baitest movie of all time, he likely would have a statue on his mantle right now. [Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

Miramax Films

11. Uma Thurman as Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction As Quentin's certified muse, it's no surprise that Thurman's performances reside near the top of this list. Mia Wallace was a paragon of cool, even when she was fucking up royally, and her and Vincent's scene at Jackrabbit slims, talking $5 milkshakes and failed TV pilots, up and through the dance contest, might be the best stretch of Tarantino filmmaking of all time. [Where to stream Pulp Fiction]

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10. Michael Fassbender as Lt. Archie Hicox in Inglourious Basterds I imagine if Inglourious Basterds was released today, with Fassbender's fame being what it now is, he'd be a sensation and a rival to Christoph Waltz for the Oscar. Playing a character plucked out of an old Peter O'Toole film, Fassbender is dashing, confident, stoic, and magnetic as all hell. [Where to stream Inglorious Basterds]

Everett Collection

9. Melanie Laurent as Shoshanna Dreyfus in Inglourious Basterds There's a good chance that audiences respond so much to Laurent's character because we really, really want her to best those Nazis. Laurent't steel-reinforced presence is put to best use during the Bowie-scored "Cat People" scene. [Where to stream Inglorious Basterds]

Everett Collection

8. Pam Grier as Jackie Brown in Jackie Brown Tarantino's adoration for Pam Grier's career in blaxploitation cinema is so evident in the way he serves Jackie Brown up on a platter for her. Grier is more than equal to the task, playing Jackie not only as sexy and strong but also weary, wary, vulnerable, and conflicted. It's a full-bodied performance, and there are more than a few scenes -- the confrontation when Ordell comes to kill her; any number of her scenes with Robert Forster -- where she's nothing short of award-worthy.[Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Everett Collection

7. David Carradine as Bill in Kill Bill The revenge premise of the Kill Bill movies, right down to the title, is so operatic and oversized that the casting of Bill needed to live up to some massive expectations. And after a scant few minutes in the first volume, David Carradine more than delivered in the second, with a kind of predatory zen befitting the snakes he named his assassins after. [Where to stream Kill Bill Vol. 1, Where to stream Kill Bill Vol. 2]

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6. Christoph Waltz as Colonel Hans Landa in Inglourious Basterds Waltz had that Oscar won fifteen minutes into Inglourious Basterds. His performance in that opening scene alone was so frightening, and in such a different way than we're used to seeing from screen Nazis. It's a smart and perversely funny performance, but more than anything else, it's a canny one. Hans Landa wasn't scary because of bluster, or even because of quiet menace. It was because Waltz does such a great job of keeping you from seeing the full spectrum of what Landa is capable of. We get flashes and facades, but it's not until the very end of the movie that all the cards get laid out on the table.[Where to stream Inglorious Basterds]

Everett Collection

5. Tim Roth as Mr. Orange in Reservoir Dogs I wrote earlier about the Harvey Keitel/Tim Roth relationship being the heart of Reservoir Dogs, and that all applies in Tim Roth's favor, too. In addition, he has to play the whole undercover-cop angle, and as the cherry on top, he manages to be so good at playing a shot-up, bleeding, soon-to-be-dead man in agony that I often have to look away from the screen. Not from the blood, but from the raw agony in Roth's voice and on his face.[Where to stream Reservoir Dogs]

Miramax Films

4. Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver in Kill Bill Think of Daryl Hannah in literally any other movie she's ever been in, and tell me you could have fathomed the wickedly formidable creation that was her Elle Driver. There are few performances in the entire Tarantino filmography -- maybe none at all -- that are more fun to watch than what Daryl Hannah does with the ol' California Mountain Snake. Elle is handy with a costume change, an expert whistler, a merciless killer, and, in her best scene in Budd's trailer, incredibly interested in new facts about snake venom. It's a massive human tragedy that no film has been able to pull that kind of performance out of Hannah in the years since. [Where to stream Kill Bill Vol. 1, Where to stream Kill Bill Vol. 2]

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2. Robert Forster as Max Cherry in Jackie Brown The grizzled old bail-bondsman who takes one last chance on a big score with a beautiful woman. It's the kind of throwback story that Tarantino must've seen dozens of times in his video-store-clerk youth. The amount of humanity that Forster pours into his character is actually unbelievable. Every gesture, every sentence is full of a kind of weary decency. Forster received a surprise Academy Award nomination for the performance, and few Tarantino-directed performances have deserved it more.[Where to stream Jackie Brown]

Everett Collection

1. Samuel L. Jackson as Jules Winfield in Pulp Fiction He pulled off Ezekiel, a Jheri curl, and a debate about foot massages that might have taken down a lesser actor. Jackson's Jules goes deeper than any other character in Tarantino's greatest film. He's the movie's secret heart. He's the man who puts a bow on things at the very end, finally sorting out who he is, who's the shepherd, and who's the tyranny of evil men. He's funny, scary, and massively quotable. He's like the world's biggest Fonzie: so very cool. [Where to stream Pulp Fiction]